Adriana McGarity, MD, IFMCP
Meet Dr. Adriana
The decision to open Crest Health & Wellness was born from my own personal health journey. For years, I struggled with vague GI symptoms including bloating, acid reflux, and abdominal discomfort. Despite treatment with prescription interventions, including PPI’s (antacids) and endoscopies, my symptoms never resolved and, in fact, continued to worsen. I had struggled with these symptoms for years until, eventually, my body couldn’t take it anymore. I became extremely ill, requiring hospitalization for a thyroid crisis.
At that point in my life, I had been a board certified practicing anesthesiologist for over 10 years. I had developed a firm faith in the principles of conventional medical treatments and recognized its standards of care as the only legitimate solutions to treating illness. I was in complete shock to realize that despite following its recommendations and plans of care, conventional medicine had ultimately failed to improve my health. Moreover, despite being under the care of conventional doctors during the preceding years up until my thyroid crisis, I was still left without an answer to the question of why I became so “acutely” ill. I was absolutely devastated, and I struggled to understand how exactly this could have happened to me.
These events set me on a path to figure out how and why my body broke down, and it led me to discover the world of functional medicine. The knowledge I gained was so profound that it compelled me to further my studies and receive formal training through the Institute for Functional Medicine. As I poured over all the information I was learning, I asked myself why I hadn’t learned about this before, why it wasn’t being taught in medical schools, and why more people didn’t know about it. I felt I had been misled, and it was so frustrating to realize that my illness could have been prevented; and also to realize that my family, my community, and I could have been enjoying healthier, happier, and better lives if only we’d had access to this way of practicing medicine all along.
It became clear that I needed to change the way I viewed health and disease, and the way I practiced medicine. As I implemented what I learned in my life and in the lives of my family, the positive effects were so dramatic that I felt I needed to share this knowledge with the world. I started talking with friends and whomever wanted to listen about my experience and what I was doing to get healthier. I started getting a lot of questions from family and friends about their health problems and advice I could offer to help them feel better. I noticed how many people were suffering and struggling and didn’t have the knowledge or access to practitioners who could help them. So, I decided I would open a functional medicine clinic in my town to help those who are seeking better health and want to change the choices they make so they can live healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives.
I want to educate and empower people to take back control of their health and wellbeing. As I started talking with people in my community I understood how much of the problem stems from a lack of education and knowledge about nutrition and lifestyle choices. There is so much confusion surrounding what foods to eat, what foods to avoid, and how symptoms are related and point to imbalance. There is also limited understanding about how lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise, not getting enough sleep, drinking too much coffee, consuming too much alcohol, and not engaging in healthy social interactions have a tremendous impact on our mental and physical health. I want to be part of a health revolution where it’s cool to want to be healthy and to eat broccoli instead of fries, and to drink green tea instead of soda, and when we get together we talk about our feelings and vulnerabilities, and how we can help each other thrive.
It’s been an incredibly challenging, yet fulfilling journey thus far. My illness provided me with the unique opportunity to discover a different world that has benefited and enriched my life in so many ways, for which I am extremely grateful. I look forward to meeting you as I continue my journey of wellness and self-discovery and I am excited to share what I have learned and continue to learn with you.
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